FrenchConnection44

He’s been very inconsistent for sure with a lot of bad games. It seems when he goes south a bit he loses confidence and gets really bad. But he’s not been one of the worst goalies in whatever league the last five seasons. Had a poor 10 games at Rochester in 19-20, but was very good in the ECHL that same year (better than Houser whom we also have in Rochester). Had a .912 save % and 2.24 gaa. 21-22 again not great in Rochester but showed some improvement (.900 save %). He did have a good 9 game stint in Buffalo that year with a .917 save %, 2.74 gaa. It’s not the worst goalie in whatever league he’s been in. He was bad last year but did have some strong games (vs Vegas, Col, early then Flyers, Rangers & Islanders). It may mean nothing but it shows he has flashed some raw potential to play well. I’m not trying to defend the guy as some future star, by any means, nor defending his play overall at all; but he has improved here and there and he still has upside potential, imho. Especially given how fickle the goalie position can be and how some don’t come into their own until their mid 20s. Odds are not great, but it’s clear the Sabres have entirely not written him off as some here have. This fall will likely be crucial for his ability to make it. I suspect he knows that. We shall see if he steps up.

I agree that size does not project that a goalie will become great or very good. That isn’t what I was saying. I was simply noting that the raw components are there. And either Adams and the Sabres don’t know anything and fans here do or they have seen something in him. In spite of his struggles. GMs are not always correct, of course, but it also ain’t nothing. And Adams has been excellent at finding talent and has also been right with his patience on a lot of players who were trashed in forums before (like Tage). Given his track record with talent, I’m content to give him and the scouts the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise.

It seems to me that given the patience Adams has, he will want to keep UPL and see him continue to develop. As long as he doesn’t totally suck in camp and the preseason. And I think there is still hope for him. He was a talented prospect. Has the size and some quality raw tools. Needs to work but the potential is there. He needs to be able to go 40 games. Comrie has a higher floor right now but not nearly the ceiling UPL has, imo.

Lance Lysowski recent analysis On Goaltenders Eric Comrie and his $1.8 million salary-cap hit will be traded or assigned to Rochester before the season begins. I don’t expect anyone to want to take his salary via trade or waivers, unless someone with cap space has an injury at the position, so don't be surprised if Comrie begins the season in Rochester. On Olofsson & the Forward Position Sabres are unlikely to trade Victor Olofsson with Quinn out until late December or January. There’s risk in keeping Olofsson, who is entering the final season of his contract after he totaled a career-high 28 goals. General manager Kevyn Adams doesn’t like to lose a player for nothing, but he can keep Olofsson as a rental and try to work out a trade before the deadline once Quinn is back if someone such as Jiri Kulich emerges as a difference-maker. In addition to keeping Olofsson, the Sabres will try to fill the void internally with Kulich, Lukas Rousek, Brett Murray, Linus Weissbach and Brandon Biro competing for a spot out of training camp. There’s finally enough NHL-ready talent in the pipeline to have competition On The Glut of Defensemen The obvious odd man out is Jacob Bryson after his challenging season, but will a team want to move a draft pick to acquire his $1.85 million cap hit? His salary might also cause him to be unclaimed on waivers, which would put Bryson in the same situation that Anders Bjork was in last season. Bjork’s $1.8 million salary was buried in Rochester until a trade could be completed. The player to watch is Ilya Lyubushkin. Fans are speculating that it could be Henri Jokiharju on the move, but Lyubushkin is entering the final year of a contract with a $2.75 million salary-cap hit. A contending team unable to add to their blue line in free agency will be interested in adding his right-handed shot and physical approach. On Replacing Jack Quinn There's too much talent on this team for the Sabres to bank on another rookie to replace Quinn. Sign Tomas Tatar. Make a trade with a cap-crunched team to offload a defenseman for a forward. You can't make the playoffs between October and January, but you can dig yourself a big enough hole to make it challenging to contend in the season's second half. Expectations for Dahlin / Power Deals Based on comparable contracts to defensemen such as Cale Makar (Colorado) and Adam Fox (New York Rangers), I expect Dahlin's deal to be eight years, with an annual cap hit of $10 million to $10.5 million. Power is unlikely to sign long-term so soon into his career, but he's an ideal candidate for a bridge contract. A three-year, $21 million pact would make sense. Lineup Predictions / Possibilities Lysowski: Here are some lines and defense pairings with the talent on the depth chart: Jeff Skinner – Tage Thompson – Alex Tuch. JJ Peterka – Dylan Cozens – Matt Savoie. !!! Jordan Greenway – Casey Mittelstadt – Victor Olofsson. Zemgus Girgensons – Peyton Krebs – Kyle Okposo. Rasmus Dahlin – Mattias Samuelsson. Owen Power – Connor Clifton. Henri Jokiharju - Erik Johnson. Extras: Ilya Lyubushkin (defenseman), Riley Stillman (defenseman) and Tyson Jost (forward). This is a challenging exercise because it is unclear what the Sabres plan to do with Savoie, who's too young to spend the entire regular season in Rochester. He's probably too advanced to return to the Western Hockey League, so I'd give him a chance to prove he's ready for the NHL. Granato can rotate Savoie in and out of the lineup based on the opponent. If the forward group remains healthy and Savoie struggles, I'd sit him long enough to assign him to Rochester on a conditioning assignment. He can then head to the IIHF World Junior Championship with Canada and reunite with Zach Benson in the WHL until joining the Amerks at the end of his season. Kulich or Rousek can be assigned to Buffalo once Savoie departs.

One question I have about VO is that if many / most see him, as I do, as a deficient player overall (in spite of a great shot and the ability to score; his +/- is so bad), then what kind of trade value would he actually bring? Would teams really want him? Particularly if we push it to the trade deadline. If he played well and brought down his negatives then we’d likely be inclined to not trade him. If he remains lousy on D what trade value does he have?

Was going to ask the same thing. Bocces was primo in the 70s but I moved away in ‘79. ☹️ Would love to sample some Buffalo pizza right now. Mmmm 😋

Someone probably already posted this. But this is easily the best scouting video on Benson. Has me super pumped. When this kid gets stronger, fills out his size, and adds some speed … he’s going to be fantastic for us. Can’t wait. I expect him to be competing heavily for a roster spot next season given his work ethic and instincts.

At least Murray has improved every year in the AHL. Big long shot but I’ve seen players make similar progress and eventually get to the NHL.

I’m trusting in the Sabres self scouting. And hope they excel. UPL has potential but who knows. I have wanted a trade for a veteran but also don’t want to give up a ton. Middle vote there. But I’m willing to let Levi split time with one or both of the other two. We went with 3 goalies much of last year and I suspect we could do the same this year; unless the young forwards prove they belong. We could carry 8/12/3 Or 7/13/3. Ideally 8/13/2 but either UPL or Comrie would have to show up and be excellent. Perhaps they will. One never knows. It may be of use to recall that UPL had nine games year before last and he put up better numbers than Levi did last season in 7 games. Though I think Levi has more talent. I do think the defensive upgrades and another year of maturity of our young defenders will help a ton! I thought the D was a big problem with our giving up so many goals last season.

Agree on D and reach and the ability to take up space and steer attackers away (Victor Hedman is the quintessential example imo). And that reach can help with forwards also. Yes, a strong forecheck is part of what I was getting at. But even smaller guys like Benson can excel at that. Im okay with some young talent of which we have a ton - regardless of size - entering and playing for a couple of years in the bottom six. Perhaps then using as trade value. But my main thing is tenacity and toughness (mental and physical - Obviously, in general all our guys are tough. But the toughness that can win in the playoffs is another level).

Really hoping we get Dahlin on a deal soon. Cale Maker is averaging $9 million on a long term deal he signed last year with $6.7 million in his final year. He’s the best young defenseman in the NHL and has already won the Cup. Surely we can get Dahlin for 7-8 at $10 million avg. or in that range? Power is likely to wait til next year. I didn’t pay attention to his first deal with us but surprised he’s going to be a RFA after two years. He could get a massive deal if he plays great.

This is a great thread. Love the lists and rankings. As well as the link to elite hockey. Will be keeping tabs on these all year. Also looking forward to seeing some of our boys in the NCAA.

Nice article. I am pretty excited about the prospects and the potential of this team. The NHL lineup has some weaknesses on lines 3-4 but the future is really bright. If we can get Dahlin under contract before the season and get a deal with Power by next year this team should be on fire the next 3-4 seasons.

This is the key. It’s useful to have some size scattered on the roster and big strong defenders or forwards have a role to play in games. What is crucial to winning and going deep in the playoffs is not size but the tenacity and intensity with which a team plays (along with talent, of course, and goaltending). Size is less significant (see Marchand) but having a couple of big, powerful players who can play (Chara, Hedman) can really benefit a team. Hoping Power can become that player. That tenacious dog is something that was missing a couple of years ago and though improved, you could still see wane during the ebb and flow of the season last year. We just had stretches of malaise. As the young players mature and hopefully get stronger and more physical - this intensity will come. When they get there it should be a very good team.

You can see my post above in terms of my perspective on Hasek and the situation in Eastern Europe. Quite understandable. Difficult situation and reasonable people can disagree, but I am OK with drafting the Russian players. Hard to blame an 18-year-old. Hopefully by the time they come into the NHL, this will be over. It’s an awful situation and there are different perspectives on how to actually approach it. I am very pro Ukrainian and pro military support of them because this is such an awful attack. But I also differ a bit from Hasek even though I absolutely understand and respect his perspective. As a friend of mine used to say, “I always think I’m right [in any given moment], but know I’m not always right.”

Was just coming on to post this. As others have noted, this guy is super likable. Knows the team. Has very reasonable and informed takes (even if one disagrees with parts). This was a a solid video.

This is spot on. I lived in the Czech Republic for two years from 1990-92 just after the collapse of the Eastern bloc (also traveled to Ukraine while there - while it was still under the Soviet Union. The ppl we met hated Russian oppression). Russia was horribly oppressive. Ruined the Czech country. It was like traveling back 60 years when I arrived and many people were psychologically ruined. One of my best friends there had parents born in the 1930s and he noted that 60 years of their life was ruined. It’s easy, living so far removed from such oppressive regimes, to think Hasek too extreme. But when you see remnants of it up front one becomes far more empathetic. Just look at how most of the eastern euros (Poland; Latvia; etc) see it. They know. While I am okay with some of these athletes participating, I also get why Hasek is so outspoken. He knows the evil. At the same time, most of the Russian athletes have family living under a threat if they speak out so I understand why they would not. It’s just a terrible situation for all brought on through no fault of their own; but by a deranged tyrant.

Looking forward to watching several Hockey East games this year with 3 prospects at BU, UConn, and New Hampshire.

The physicality that Clifton and E. Johnson bring will be welcome. Their respective hits last year (208 & 121) were easily more than any other defender on the Sabres last season. Their hits the past two years: Clifton: 156 / 208 Johnson: 165 / 121 Hits are not everything when it comes to physical play but it’s part of it. Another element I am hopeful Johnson will improve on D when we are short handed. We let guys sit in the slot way too much.

I like Greenway okay. I’d like to see him be more of an intimidator with his size. He just is not a reliable scorer. It’s possible but I would be surprised if his injury kept him from putting the puck away on chances he had last year. He could still be a player if he would grind harder and develop as a forechecker and defender.

This is great. I am super pumped about the future for this franchise.

This is a phenomenal piece. I am pretty pumped over our prospects. Can’t wait to follow them this year.

Johnson may well need to be spelled some on defense as he’s no longer a 22 minute guy, but his defensive metrics are better than any of our 4-5-6 guys last year. And they didn’t sign him to a $3.25 to sit at #7 on the depth chart. I think Joki can and will improve. How much remains to be seen. He’s still quite young. So while Biron thinks he could be trade bait I’m fine with him competing to play on the 3rd line. I do think the D will be improved. Perhaps significantly. Clifton and E Johnson give it a boost. The young guys will improve. Power needs to add a good 15-20 lbs to his frame over the course of the next few yrs. But we are already more sound on D than last year, imo. I actually have more concern - today -at forward with Quinn out and VO still on the team potentially getting minutes with his -23. With Quinn, we have a solid pairing with Cozens or Krebs. But we still need a replacement at forward as well as an upgrade over VO.